A problem with existing mobility devices such as wheelchairs is that they are not easily operable by a user, especially those users that have significant loss or impaired movement of their limbs (arms and legs).
Also most all wheelchairs are not suitable to be used on all surface types. They are not able to be used easily or effectively on soft surfaces such as lawns or undulating surfaces, i.e. they are not able to be used “off road”. They are prone to get stuck and require assistance of others to be able to go “off road”.
Powered wheelchairs typically require hand controls to steer and propel the wheel chair forward and backward and/or only one pivoting mechanism for controlling the forward and backward movement of the wheelchair. It is known to have wheel chairs that are controlled by the weight placement of the user, however these are not suitable for providing fine control of such movement in places where required (such as a crowded place or in a shop) or are not suitable for “off road” use.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification such as U.S. Pat. No. 9,585,801 B2 to Halsall dated Mar. 7, 2017 are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications may be referred to herein; this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
It is an object of the invention to provide a powered mobility device with tilt mechanism having multiple pivots, typically a powered wheelchair, that ameliorates some of the disadvantages and limitations of the known art or at least provide the public with a useful choice.